Practical Electric Motor Selection and Control

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Differentiate between major DC and AC motor types based on construction, operating principles, and performance characteristics
• Evaluate motor performance characteristics to support informed selection decisions for specific applications
• Apply structured criteria to select electric motors based on load requirements, operating conditions, and system constraints
• Analyze fundamental electrical and electromagnetic relationships that govern motor behaviour and performance
• Assess motor control strategies, including the application of variable frequency drives, to optimize operation

Description

Electric motors are fundamental to industrial and commercial systems, yet selecting and operating them effectively requires more than a basic understanding of their function. Engineers frequently encounter challenges when matching motor types to load requirements, evaluating performance under varying conditions, or integrating control strategies that ensure efficiency, reliability, and long-term equipment performance. Poor selection or misapplication can lead to increased energy consumption, premature failure, and operational risk.

This course addresses these challenges by providing a structured and practical understanding of electric motors, with a strong emphasis on motor applications. It covers the operating principles, construction, and performance characteristics of both DC and AC motors, along with key electrical fundamentals required to interpret their behaviour in real-world systems.

Through a combination of foundational theory and application-focused analysis, the course equips you with the tools to confidently select appropriate motor types, evaluate their suitability for specific applications, and apply control methods such as variable frequency drives to improve system performance.

Who This Course Is For

This course is designed for:

• Engineers and engineering technologists involved in equipment design, specification, or system integration
• Technical professionals working with motor-driven systems in industrial or manufacturing environments
• Maintenance personnel and technicians responsible for motor performance, troubleshooting, and reliability
• Professionals in power generation, processing, or utilities requiring practical understanding of electric motors
• Early- to senior-career practitioners seeking to strengthen applied knowledge of motor selection and control

Day I

Brief Overview of AC & DC Electricity

• Voltage, current and power relationships in DC electricity
• Voltage, current and power relationships in AC electricity

Overview & General Categorization of all Rotational Motors

• Various types of DC motors
• Various types of AC motors
• Introduction of linear (non-rotational) motors

Fundamentals of Operation of DC Machines

• Magnetic field, number of poles, torque, speed and power relationships
• Lorentz force, the fundamental principle of motor operation
• Faraday’s law, the fundamental principle to generator action
• Electromotive Force (EMF) and Back Electromotive Force (BEMF)

Physical Structure of DC Machines

• Field, field winding and ways of providing the filed
• Armature and armature winding
• Voltage, current and torque in a DC motor

DC Motors Categories and their Characteristics

• Permanent magnet motor and its characteristics
• Separately excited motor and its characteristics
• Shunt-wound motor and its characteristics
• Series-wound motor and its characteristics

Other Types of DC Motors

• Compound wound motors
• Brushless DC motor
• DC motor control
• DC motor selection

Day II

AC Machines Main Categories

• Single-phase, Three-phase, Synchronous, Asynchronous (Induction)

Fundamental Operation of AC Machines

• Rotating magnetic field in 3-phase systems
• Relationships for speed, frequency and number of poles
• Synchronous speed

Synchronous Motors

• principle of operation
• Synchronous motor, and characteristics
• Single-phase version/equivalent

Induction Motors, Principle of Operation and Categories

• Wound Rotor Induction Motor, the principle of operation
• Advantages and drawbacks
• Characteristic curve, applications
• Squirrel-cage motor, characteristic curve, NEMA classification

Single-phase Induction Motors

• Split-phase motor, capacitor-start, capacitor-run, Shaded-pole motor
• Universal motor

Speed Control of AC Motors